Articles > Epoxy Rails
Quite some time ago now a friend of mine Chae Bruce was experimenting with different ways to put a rail on a speargun. What he came up with in the end that worked very well, was a rail made of a two-pot epoxy. At the time I was not so excited about railed spearguns. But one of his motives was to be able to drive more power behind a smaller spear without making the spear whip. Which I think he achieved quite well. The issue I had with my speargun was it is a 1.25 long euro gun, and I did not like the amount of sag in the spear and I wanted to avoid using a spear guide or barrel collar to elevate the spear from the barrel. So I thought what about a half rail from the rear to almost halfway down the length of the barrel. These rails in the end are quite different than the likes of a South African speargun. A lot deeper, almost halfway up the spear. Which gives the spear a very positive guide. Quite a few 110's & 100's I have made are half rail guns for the likes of Snapper Snooping. Some of the benefits: When the gun is held on it’s side the spear stays straight. No rail at the muzzle end means less mass which means easier to turn in the water. Less resistance on the spear with only half a rail. The reason I wanted to avoid a barrel collar is they sometimes move which puts the spear out of line. I have also made full length rail guns, which works well for bigger guns. The epoxy also has graphite mixed in which minimizes resistance. The spearguns have a heavy-duty 2mm sidewall carbon barrel, which makes these guns very strong. The finished product is slightly lighter than an alloy gun but slowly sinks with a 6.5mm spear fitted.